Safety mask

ABSTRACT

An improved safety mask for an emergency refugee, which broadly comprises a mask body member having upper and lower inside portions mutually segregated by a transverse protrusion extending substantially from the human nose septum to cheekbones, and an oxygen container secured at a lower portion of the body member. The oxygen container is intermittently connected with the inside lower portion of the body member through an oxygen suction valve provided at the central bottom of the body member, which valve is operative to open and shut automatically in response to an inhalation and exhalation of the mask wearer. For the exhaust of the wearer&#39;&#39;s exhalation, slits are provided about such portions of the body member as corresponding to the human cheek portions, and for the wearer&#39;&#39;s sight, transparent windows and a lighting means are provided.

1 nited States Patent 1 1 Nakanishi- 1 June 28, 1974 SAFETY MASK1,158,845 12/1963 Germany 128/141 R [76] Inventor: Motoyoshi Nakanishi,11-13 Prtmary Exammer-R1chard A. Gaudet Homach Funabashl Japan AssistantExaminerG. F. Dunne [22] Filed: Mar. 12, 1973 Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Arthur A. March [21] Appl. No.: 340,291 I [57] ABSTRACT RelatedApphcatmn Data An improved safety mask for an emergency refugee, [63]Continuation of Ser. No. 95,929, Dec. 7, 1970, which broadlycomprisesamask body member having abandoned upper and lower insideportions mutually segregated by a transverse protrusion extendingsubstantially U-S- from the human nose septum to che kbones and an Cl. Ixygen Containgr ecured at a lower portion of the Fleld of Search memberThe oxygen ontainer is intermittently 128/142.5, 142.4, 142.6, 142.7;2/3 R, 5, 6 connected with the inside lower portion of the body v memberthrough an oxygen suction valve provided at References Cited the centralbottom of the body member, which valve is UNITED STATES PATENTSoperative to open and shut automatically in response 456,687 7/1891Bader 128/142.3 to an inhalation and exhalation of the mask Wearer-1,749,993 3 1930 l i 2 5 For the exhaust of the wearers exhalation,slits are 1,945,919 2/ 1934 Seijo 128/142 provided about such portionsof the body member as 2,375,147 5/1945 Teaque 128/l42.4 corresponding tothe human cheek portions, and for 2,897,817 8/1959 Marina 128/142.2 th warer ight, transparent windows and a lighting FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS {means are provlded' 472,491 2/1929 Germany 128/141 R 2Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PAIENTEnmza m4 INVENTOR Moro 10 1; Min/mm BYHKTWfl/f f7 ATTORNEYS SAFETY MASK This is a continuation of applicationSer. No. 95,929, filed Dec. 7, 1970 now abandoned. i

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention concerns a mask for safety oflife, preventing a mortal accident such. as a gaseous toxication andsuffocation by way of checking the admission of smoke, toxic gas or thelike in fire accidents or other pollution gaseous matters, and at thesame time, by supplying oxygen or fresh air. The life safety mask of theinvention not only is effectively used in case of emergency such asfires in particular, but also makes it possible for the wearer topositively engage in fire fighting operation.

In recent years, the atmospheric environment has become extremelypolluted. In this connection, a pollution of air due to such gasas-exhausted by automobiles in operation or discharged from factories ingeneral, particularly, is highly detrimental to human'health, and to thepeople living in such a polluted atmospheric environment, it forms anecessity to provide for a means capable of supplying fresh air oroxygen. More specifically, in fire accidents a heavy generation of smokeor, if not heavy, the emanation of a poisonous gas is most dangerous tothe human body, so that cases are more frequent where the death in afire was attributed to a difficult breathing to suffocation in furioussmoke or poisonous gas rather than to the flame itself, and a necessitylies also in such events for a means which can be put on with ease andoperated without fail toinhibit admission of the smoke and injuriousgas, while supplying fresh air or oxygen to the wearer, and allowing thewearer to move freely and rapidly.

, Before this invention, various safety masks were developed for samepurposes, and a typical example of the known devices is based on thesystem in which outer air is filtrated and then inhaled. With this typeof the device, the disadvantage admitted resides in that, while usedeffectively for a certain specific sort of gas, it does not have afiltratiion toward other sorts of the gas. A further type known of thesafety mask is of a mode of feeding oxygen into the mask from an oxygencylinder provided independently of the mask, and the shortcoming to beindicated of this device is that, however urgent the case may be, arefugee with such a device has to have time enough to put on the maskand, in addition, shoulder the oxygen cylinder. Further, it is highlylikely in this case that the refugee that has shouldered an oxygencylinder, which is relatively heavy, may lose a physical freedom whichhe may have otherwise had.

It is therefore the object of this invention to obliterate suchdrawbacks of the prior art devices by providing an improved safety mask,which an emergency refugee can wear with extreme ease and rapidity evenin the event of his being overwhelmed by smoke, and with which he cansecure means for an inhalation of fresh air oxygen and exhaust of hisexpiration in stability without need for any particular operations.Also, the improved mask of the invention does not disturb the wearer'sactivity, at all, whereby it is employable not only in an emergencyescape but also for more positive purposes, for example, for operatingan extinction activity, relief work and so forth in the presence ofsmoke and/or poisonous gaseous matters. Further, the mask of theinvention is devised to therein house a lighting means, so that it canaccommodate its weareer with a sight even in a night darkness or infogginess due to thick smoke occurrence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a front view of the safety mask of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the oxygen admission valve of themask; and

FIG. 4 is a view taken for an explanation of the operation of the valveshown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to theaccompanying drawings, the invention will now be described in greaterdetail in connection with the illustrated preferred embodiment of theinvention, which comprises broadly a mask body member 1 and an oxygen(or air) container 7 fixed at a lower portion of the mask body.

The mask member 1 has a suspension band 2 secured at its upper portionsand a lighting lamp 3 immovably housed at its forehead portion. A powerswitch 4 (FIG. 2), which connects with the lamp 3, is protruded insideof the mask body 1, and upon its contact with the forehead of a maskwearer, it will be pushed to close the electric circuit to the lamp 3.The mask member 1 also includes transversely within its inside aprotrusion 5 which sealably covers the facial portion from cheekbones tothe nose septum of the mask wearer, dividing the whole facial area intoan upper and lower halves. About its portions corresponding to the eyelocations of its wearer, the mask body 1 is provided with transparentwindows 6 and 6, and at its lower end portion, it is formed in aconfiguration capable of tightly abut-' ting on substantially the wholeof the lower jaw portion of its wearer, except its front lower endportion at which it is provided with an appreciable space housing anautomatic suction valve 8 provided at its lower portion, the suctionvalve being for intermittently connecting the interior of the mask body1 and that of the oxygen (or air) container 7, which is secured to alower portion of the member 1 as set forth before.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the suction valve 8 therein illustratedin enlarged views comprises a reverse cup member 8a made of a resilientfilm material or the like and having a (perpendicular) protuberance 8bat its inner central portion, and an oxygen (or air) jet 9 perforatedcorresponding to the protuberance.

At its each cheek portion, the mask member 1 has an exhaust slit l1operative to open in response to a difference between the internal andexternal pressures. The reference character 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2 denotesan auxiliary valve, which is manually operable when the automatic valve8 should get out of order.

In operation, when the safety mask of the invention is worn with itssuspension band 2 put around the head of wearer and as soon as the maskbody I is made touching his face, the switch 4 is pushed at his foreheadto light the lamp 3. Then, with the cover protrusion 5 closely attachedsubstantially about his cheekbones and nose septum, and with the lowerend portion of the mask member I contacted closely about his lower jawportion, the wearer may breathe in, whereupon the automatic valve 8 ismade pulled and swollen as shown in FIG. 4, causing the jet 9 to open.As oxygen is sent out of the container 7, gaps l0, and 10 become formedabout bottom portions of the reverse cup member 8a, by way of which gapsthe oxygen is fed into the mask and inhaled by the wearer. Upon wearersexhalation, the valve 8 is pushed to shut as shown in FIG. 3 and at thesame time the interior of the mask member 1 becomes showing a highpressure, whereby the exhaust slits 11 are opened to thereby flow outthe exhalation of the wearer. Thus, in accordance with the wearersinhalation and exhalation, the automatic valve 8 is opened and closed,while the exhaust slits ll alternating a closing and opening activities,so that the wearer of the mask of the invention can without fail beprevented from inhaling an external poisonous gas or the like. In casewhen the inhalation valve 8 should fail to be in order, then theemergency valve 12 may be pushed, when the oxygen within the container 7will be flown inside the mask body 1, so that the wearer can be escapedfro certainty from falling into a difficulty in breathing. I

Further, even if the oxygen container 7 should be emptied of itscontents, providing that the outer air do not contain a poisonousgaseous matter but simply be nonpoisonous smoke, the mask wearer canescape suffocation by breathing vigorously. That is to say, anexhalation vigorously breathed out will be discharged through slits 11,while a strong inhallation functions to put the interior pressure of themask boty 1 lower than the normal level, whereby the slits 11 becomestrongly pulled toward the inside of the mask body to forcibly openitself and the outer air will be imbibed. Even in this event, thewearers eyes are protected against the smoke or the like by thetransverse cover protrusion 5 so that the wearer may never be disturbedfrom finding his way for a rapid refuge.

The mask body member 1, suspension belt 2, transparent windows 6 and 6and oxygen container 7 of the device of the invention should preferablybe made of a flameand fire-resistant material, and the inhalation a pairof transparent window members in the upper I body portion spaced fromeach other at distances like the eye separation of a human being,

an oxygen container connected to the lower section of the body member,

means to connect the container to the interior of the mask including ajet opening member and an automatic suction valve of elastic characterserially connected between the container and the mask interior in aregion to provide an oxygen supply into the breathing region of thewearer,

a pair of slits located in the body member in the region of the cheeksof the wearer which open outwardly for removal of exhaust in the maskwhen the interior mask pressure exceeds the outer pressure and opensinwardly for the inhalation of air when the interior mask pressure issubstantially less than that of the outer pressure.

2. The mask claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition,

a lighting means supported interiorly of the mask generally centrallyand in the upper section generally above the window areas for thewearers eyes, and

switch means inside the forehead upper section to control the connectionand disconnection of the light with operation.

1. A safety mask comprising a main body member, a protrusion on the inside of said main member to segregate upper and lower sections thereof, a pair of transparent window members in the upper body portion spaced from each other at distances like the eye separation of a human being, an oxygen container connected to the lower section of the body member, means to connect the container to the interior of the mask including a jet opening member and an automatic suction valve of elastic character serially connected between the container and the mask interior in a region to provide an oxygen supply into the breathing region of the wearer, a pair of slits located in the body member in the region of the cheeks of the wearer which open outwardly for removal of exhaust in the mask when the interior mask pressure exceeds the outer pressure and opens inwardly for the inhalation of air when the interior mask pressure is substantially less than that of the outer pressure.
 2. The mask claimed in claim 1 comprising, in addition, a lighting means supported interiorly of the mask generally centrally and in the upper section generally above the window areas for the wearer''s eyes, and switch means inside the forehead upper section to control the connection and disconnection of the light with operation. 